Interview a Teacher

Step One – List Questions

The first thing you’ll need to do for your teacher interview is to prepare a list of questions with your partner. You’re going to do this in OneNote, a part of Office 365, which will enable both of you to put in your own questions in at the same time.

You and your partner will come up with a minimum of 15 questions. You can come up with more if you’d like – I would recommend at least 20. At least 10 of the questions should be open-ended. An open-ended is a question that requires more than 1 – 4 words to properly answer it. For example, if I ask a question, “Do you like teaching?”, it’s not open-ended because a simple “yes” would answer it – and that would make a very boring interview. Instead a better question would be “What do you like about teaching?” That can’t be properly answered with a yes or a no!

After you put it on your blog, print out two copies. Put a star by your best questions – those are the ones you especially don’t want to forget.

When you do your interview, have your questions with you. But don’t be to focused on them. Listen to what the teacher is saying to you and think about questions that will keep the flow of the conversation going. When that subject has ran its course, then return to the list.

Step Two – Set Up an Interview Time with Your Teacher

The best time is during media class but often that isn’t possible because they’re teaching. So you might have to arrange a different time – when their class has PE, for instance, or after-school, if you can stay a little later. If this is during a time you have a class, then you’ll also need to check with the teacher you have at that time. You’ll soon find out that some teachers are more open to this than others.

Step Three – Interview the Teacher

Ok, you have the questions ready and you have the time set up, now you have to actually do the interview.

Here are some tips:

Tip #1: Use a tripod. We’re going to try to make this as professional as possible and there’s nothing more amateur and distracting than having camera that’s moving all over the place. Set it up and don’t touch until the interview is over (unless the subject moves herself.)

Tip #2: Get the camera as close as you can to the subject. Even more important than getting the picture is getting the sound. If you’re too far away, you’re not going to be able to hear what they’re going to say and it’s going to be a waste of time.

Tip #3: To help you with #2: Only have the subject in the frame. You don’t need to have the interviewer in the picture. You’ll take care of that with the next task.

Tip #4: Pay attention to the background. Try to avoid filming your subject in front of a cluttered backdrop, instead ask them to move over to something spare or more organized.

Tip #5: Be prepared. Start getting the camera, the tripod and your questions ready ten minutes ahead of time. If you wait to the last second, you’re going to end up being late and your subject may not wait for you!

Tip #6: Try to have fun. Go into the interview positive and with enthusiasm. Don’t just read off your questions one after the other; listen to what the person is saying and don’t be afraid to ask new questions that occur to you when they’re talking to you.

Step Four – Record the Introduction, the Conclusion and Questions

Before you put the camera away, it might be a good time to record the introduction, conclusion and the questions. (You could also do this task after you import it onto your computer and decide what footage you’re going to keep.)

It will take a bit of thought to come up with what you’re going to say in the introduction especially. What you’re doing to telling the viewers why they should watch your interview.

Step Five – Edit the Video

Now that you’ve finished the interview, you’ll need to get it on your computer, edit it and export it so we can put it on the Edgemere Videos website and on the tv in the front hall.